Iain Gray Freelance Writer

The Exterminating Angel - Review

Luis Buñuel’s scabrously hilarious satire digs deep into the same ground that had proved so controversial in Viridiana – the inconsolable separation of the bourgeoisie from the rest of society, and the powerlessness of the church.

A group of wealthy guests arrive (twice, it should be mentioned) for a sumptuous meal at the house of a friend. However, after dinner, they find it inexplicably impossible to leave the sitting room, and as the days pass their veneer of civility cracks, revealing jealousy, hypocrisy and malice.

Filled with vivid imagery – a young bear in the next room, a dead hand falling from a cupboard – and unsettling, repetitive dialogue, what surprises most are the sudden, unexpected bursts of tenderness and humanity amid the chaos and desperation.